Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship – PEMBREY

Jordan takes points lead after second win 

Andrew Jordan (Lichfield) took his second event win of the year at Pembrey on Sunday (July 1) and moved into the lead of the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship.

Jordan qualified his Ford Focus on pole position for the Supercar A final but was eased down to third place at the start of the race as second a third qualifiers Pat Doran (Milstead) and Steve Hill (Aylesbury) beat him to the first corner. Jordan passed Hill at the end of the first lap to take second place and the began the chase of Doran who had opened a useful lead in the first lap.

Doran held off Jordan’s challenge until the last lap when his Fiesta ST suffered a turbo problem and lost boost pressure. Robbed of power, Doran was powerless to defend the lead and Jordan swept past to take the win from Hill and Ollie O’Donovan (London).

Doran finished fourth but was unable to start in the Superfinal. Also out of the event at this stage was Dermot Carnegie (Dublin), an ECU fault stopping his Fiesta before the A final. Championship leader "Mad Mark" exited the event during the first qualifying heat when the steering rack in Citroën Xsara WRC broke.

Jordan started the Superfinal from pole and led from start to finish, posting his second win with an accomplished drive. O’Donovan led the chase until the last lap when Rees made a bold move in the first corner and charged through to take second place at the end of his first event in the Supercar category. Hill also passed O’Donovan in the last lap to take third place, Dave Bellerby (Northallerton) again best of the two-wheel drive SuperModified cars in fifth place.

After missing the third round of the championship, Bellerby was intent on making up the lost ground in round four and, starting from pole, led the SuperModified A final from start to finish and took his third win of the year.

Ben Power (Welshpool) ran third in the first lap but found his way past James Bird (Midhurst) in the second lap and then pulled away to take a clear second place and move into the lead of the championship class. Bird raced hard for third place and just held on to the position after a close battle with the similar Renault Cliosport V6 of Mike Sellar (Milstead).

Allan Tapscott (Umberleigh) took fifth place with his Vauxhall Corsa while Mike Howlin (Haverfordwest) earned his A final start after winning the B final. After Gordon Rogers (Winkleigh) retired, Howlin was the last finisher. The class points leader entering the event, Bill Harbour (Tunbridge Wells) was a non-starter after destroying his car in a big crash during the third qualifying heat.

The Yokohama Stock Hatch category featured a very closely fought A final that was eventually won by Derek Tohill (Dublin). Noel O’Brien (Dublin) led the race for three laps before Tohill managed to find his way into the lead. Julian Godfrey (Heathfield) followed Tohill and grabbed second place, which left O’Brien under pressure from Ash Simpson (York).

O’Brien rebuffed Simpson’s bid for third place, but then found himself mobbed by the midfield pack and, in a hectic last lap, Declin Nolan (Dublin) scrabbled through to take third place, O’Brien slipping back to fourth with Polish racer Wozciech Bialowas (Warsaw) placing fifth.

The Bill Gwynne Rallyschool Junior Rallycross Championship category was won by Ben Rennison (Richmond) who led from start to finish after qualifying in pole position. Russ Simpson (York) led the chase of Rennison with Matt Thompson (Darlington) running third until a spin in the third lap allowed George Tracey Jnr. (Mullingar) to take the place.

The order was shuffled again in the last lap when Tracey spun and Joe Cunningham (Northallerton) slipped to last place after getting a puncture. This allowed Conor Flynn (Derby) to make his way into third place ahead of Samantha Thom (Cookstown).

The BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship has a slightly different schedule from the British championship and Pembrey formed round five for its contenders. Gary Pusey (Great Missenden) won the SuperModified category in which he held off the challenge of current champion Asa Fatchett (Lincoln) and Dave Brown (Wickford).

Ash Simpson (York) scored a clear win in the Stock hatch category, Dave Baines (Tarporley) continuing his strong run through the season with another second place finish ahead of Richard Horton (Clitheroe).

The Junior final was won by Conor Flynn (Derby) who took a narrow win over Ben Rennison (Richmond) with Russ Simpson (York) in third place.

Mon. Apr 9 Lydden

Mon. May 7 Pembrey

Mon. May 28 Lydden

Sun. Jul 1 Pembrey

Sun. Aug 5 Knockhill

Mon. Aug 27 Lydden

Sun. Oct 14 Mondello Park (IRL)

Sun. Oct 21 Croft 

www.RallycrossUK.com  

- Tim Whittington-